Ten Philosophical Mistakes: Basic Errors in Modern Thought - How They Came About, Their Consequences, and How to Avoid Them

In this delightfully lucid and accessible audiobook, America’s foremost philosopher, Mortimer J. Adler, explores 10 errors in the development of modern thought and examines the serious consequences they have in our everyday lives. Some of these mistakes include: (1) The mistake of identifying happiness with a good time rather than with that which is good for us; (2) The failure to differentiate between the perceptual and the conceptual realms of thought, by which the human mind is distinguished from the animal mind; and (3) The failure to acknowledge free will, which leads to the rejection of moral responsibility.

Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy

“Almost all of the philosophical truths that I have come to know and understand I have learned from Aristotle,” says Mortimer J. Adler. This easy-to-listen-to exposition of Aristotle’s thoughts about nature, human actions, and the conduct of life confirms convictions that most of us hold, though we may not be fully aware of them. This is because Aristotle’s philosophical insights are grounded in the common experience we all possess and because they illuminate the common sense we all rely on.

The Well Educated Mind

Have you lost the art of reading for pleasure? Are there books you know you should read but haven't because they seem too daunting? In The Well-Educated Mind, Susan Wise Bauer provides a welcome and encouraging antidote to the distractions of our age, electronic and otherwise. In her previous book, The Well-Trained Mind, the author provided a road map of classical education for parents wishing to home-school their children, and that book is now the premier resource for home-schoolers.

The Art of Exceptional Living

There's an art to success! You don't have to be a super-achiever or unusually creative. You don't have to endure great obstacles. You don't even have to do exceptional things. You just have to do ordinary things exceptionally well. The Art of Exceptional Living by Jim Rohn is the can't-miss guide that shows you how to begin living life according to your own rules.

Learn to Concentrate: For Business People, Students, and Sports Performers

In this audio presentation, you will learn how to improve your concentration skills. You will be taught techniques which will enable you to focus on what is most important in any situation while ignoring distractions.

The Lessons of History

The authors devoted five decades to the study of world history and philosophy, culminating in the masterful 11-volume Story of Civilization. In this compact summation of their work, Will and Ariel Durant share the vital and profound lessons of our collective past. Their perspective, gained after a lifetime of thinking and writing about the history of humankind, is an invaluable resource for us today.

The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the Greater Philosophers

Durant lucidly describes the philosophical systems of such world-famous “monarchs of the mind” as Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, and Nietzsche. Along with their ideas, he offers their flesh-and-blood biographies, placing their thoughts within their own time and place and elucidating their influence on our modern intellectual heritage. This book is packed with wisdom and wit.

A Mind for Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)

Whether you are a student struggling to fulfill a math or science requirement, or you are embarking on a career change that requires a higher level of math competency, A Mind for Numbers offers the tools you need to get a better grasp of that intimidating but inescapable field. Engineering professor Barbara Oakley knows firsthand how it feels to struggle with math. She flunked her way through high school math and science courses, before enlisting in the army immediately after graduation.

Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization

To compete with today's increasing globalization and rapidly evolving technologies, individuals, and organizations must take their ability to learn - the foundation for continuous improvement, operational excellence, and innovation - to a much higher level.

We Hold These Truths: Understanding the Ideas and Ideals of the Constitution

Mortimer Adler devoted a lifetime to studying the great ideas of Western culture and explaining even the most difficult concepts to the average citizen, earning Time magazine’s praise as a "philosopher for everyman". In We Hold These Truths, Dr. Adler caps his life’s work by illuminating the ideas and ideals that have made the United States of America a truly unique nation in the annals of history.

How To Read and Why

Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University, Berg Professor of English at New York University, and a former Charles Eliot Norton Professor at Harvard. He has written more than 20 books of literary criticism. From a lifetime of writing and teaching about literature, this great scholar exhorts readers to consider the pleasures and benefits of reading well.

Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning

To most of us, learning something 'the hard way' implies wasted time and effort. Good teaching, we believe, should be creatively tailored to the different learning styles of students and should use strategies that make learning easier. Make It Stick turns fashionable ideas like these on their head and will appeal to all those interested in the challenge of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

Small Talk Hacks: The People and Communication Skills You Need to Talk to Anyone & Be Instantly Likeable

Do you ever feel intimidated or out of place in social situations? Do you want to learn how to master the fine art of small talk? Do you want to develop a magnetic personality? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then this book was designed for you.

The Power of Ambition: Unleashing the Conquering Drive Within You!

Ambition can be a powerful force for good in our lives. But only if it is legitimate. Sometimes misinterpreted and often misunderstood, ambition - true ambition - is not a selfish quality. It is not another word for ruthless; it is not something to be shunned or subdued. Legitimate ambition is an honorable trait. At its very best, our ambition serves us and other people. In fact, pursuing your ambition is one of the most selfless things you can do.

How to Talk about Books You Haven't Read

The truly cultivated person is not the one who has read a book but the one who understands the book's place in our culture. Using examples from authors and movies, Bayard examines the many kinds of "non-reading" and urges us to consider what reading means and how we absorb books as a part of ourselves.

Think Twice: Harnessing the Power of Counterintuition

How to Stop Yourself Before You Make Another Costly Decision - No one intentionally makes bad decisions. Yet we make them all the time. In fact, some of the worst disasters in recent history - the collapse of major investment banks, the global financial meltdown - were the result of seemingly reasonable decisions made by a lot of smart people. How does this happen? Michael J. Mauboussin argues that the correct process for deciding well - especially when the stakes are high - conflicts with how our minds naturally work.

How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, Fourth Edition

Understanding the Bible isn't for the few, the gifted, the scholarly. The Bible is accessible. It's meant to be comprehended by everyone from armchair listeners to seminary students. A few essential insights into the Bible can clear up a lot of misconceptions and help you grasp the meaning of Scripture and its application to your 21st-century life. More than three quarters of a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their understanding of the Bible.

Preaching: Communicating Faith in an Age of Skepticism

Most Christians - including pastors - struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian Gospel to change people's lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps listeners learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.

Publisher's Summary

How to Read a Book, first published in 1940, is the best and most successful guide to reading comprehension for the general reader. Now it has been completely rewritten and updated.

Learn about the various levels of reading and how to achieve them, from elementary reading through systematic skimming and inspectional reading to speed reading. Learn how to pigeonhole a book, "x-ray" it, extract the author’s message, and critique it. The authors offer different reading techniques for various types of books, and finally, a recommended reading list and reading tests for measuring your own progress in reading skills, comprehension, and speed.

I picked the original 1940s edition of this up at an estate sale several years ago. Since I am someone who is seldom seen without a book in hand (now it is earbuds in ears), my family teased me incessantly about the title. But this book taught me more about the art and skill of reading to learn and reading to understand than I learned through my entire formal education. I would almost say that this book "taught" me to read and what I had done up until that point was a pale imitation. This should be required reading to every person even considering going to college. And if they cannot understand and learn from the book, that is a good sign their reading skills need remedial work.

I was excited when I noticed that Audible had the updated 1970s edition available. It is a major departure from the original work. It was almost entirely overhauled. Even though they are considerably different I found them both equally well written and the new version presented new ideas.

I felt somewhat foolish listening to a book about how to read. But I have found the same skills helpful as I listen, as I found them as I read. And while the book deals primarily with "serious" or "scholarly" reading, the skills discussed also enhance my experience reading modern fiction, even trashy modern fiction. You can always learn something, if you know how to go about it.

I cannot recommend this book enough. To say it changed my life when I first read it, might be an overstatement. But it certainly caused me to enjoy reading even more, and to not just use books to reinforce what I already know, but to stretch myself and actually learn something new.

This book is great if you want to improve your reading skills and get more out of what you read.I am going to do postgraduate study in the near future and this book helped me considerably in this regard ! I agree with the author that this book should be taught in schools .

Mr. Adler's theories on 'active' reading caused me to consider how I read and gain from it. His guidance on making a book my own through questions, referencing and notes has given me an outline for future reading. Like many others, I wish I had known about this book when I was in school. I'll be buying a copy for each of my grandchildren as they enter high school.

I picked the original 1940s edition of this up at an estate sale several years ago. Since I am someone who is seldom seen without a book in hand (now it is earbuds in ears), my family teased me incessantly about the title. But this book taught me more about the art and skill of reading to learn and reading to understand than I learned through my entire formal education. I would almost say that this book "taught" me to read and what I had done up until that point was a pale imitation. This should be required reading to every person even considering going to college. And if they cannot understand and learn from the book, that is a good sign their reading skills need remedial work.

I was excited when I noticed that Audible had the updated 1970s edition available. It is a major departure from the original work. It was almost entirely overhauled. Even though they are considerably different I found them both equally well written and the new version presented new ideas.

I felt somewhat foolish listening to a book about how to read. But I have found the same skills helpful as I listen, as I found them as I read. And while the book deals primarily with "serious" or "scholarly" reading, the skills discussed also enhance my experience reading modern fiction, even trashy modern fiction. You can always learn something, if you know how to go about it.

I cannot recommend this book enough. To say it changed my life when I first read it, might be an overstatement. But it certainly caused me to enjoy reading even more, and to not just use books to reinforce what I already know, but to stretch myself and actually learn something new.

I'm going to listen to it over and over again. After I listen to it 10 more times I will write another review to show exactly how much this book has adjusted my critiquing ability.Rules, categories, recommendations, explanations, definitions, and style; all this knowledge opened up a completely new dynamic of reading. I am a college student and have been reading at the elementary level, I was beginning to doubting my intelligence- not anymore. Of all the books that I have read, this one deserves to be the corner stone, the foundation, to a lifetime of good books.

It's somewhat ironic to listen to a book about how to read a book, isn't it? This book is about maximizing our skill at reading printed material, and an important tip from the author is to pay close attention while reading. The funny thing was, I found that I had to pay very close attention while listening. When I tried to multitask (driving, cooking, etc.), I found that I often lost track of the more complex ideas and had to rewind. I did find the instruction on how to annotate books very useful. I just think I didn't get nearly as much out of this book as I would have, had I read it instead of listening to it.

I was required to read this for a class, and expected it to be grueling. Instead, the content was fascinating, and the reader made it so engaging. I found myself wishing two things: 1) that I'd read it in high school 2) that I had time to read more books and apply what I was learning!

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